Read the book: «The Bachelor's Stand-In Wife»

Chapter Two

“Over there, Mom.” Hannah pointed straight ahead. “See the mailbox? That’s the address. But where’s the house?”

Valerie braked, slowing, then came to a stop next to the mailbox. Ahead she spotted a break in the abundance of trees and shrubs and assumed it was a driveway. She nosed the car down the gravel road, past a small forest of wild oaks, fragrant pines and stately cedars. Then she came upon a wide firebreak clearing and an amazing house, all glass and logs and rocks, reaching toward the sky, the stark edges softened by clouds, the windows reflecting treetops.

“Awesome,” Hannah said reverently. “We’re gonna live here?”

Valerie was no less awed. She’d expected a nice house, but not one that should be profiled in Architectural Digest. “Remember we won’t be living in the house but in a cottage on the property.”

No one came out of the house to greet or question them, so Valerie continued on, following a gently curving path around the house, discovering several buildings—a four-car garage, what looked to be a stable and the building referred to as the cottage.

The word cottage had conjured up visions in Valerie’s mind of rosebushes and wood shingles. Instead the structure was a smaller version of the main house, except with cedar-plank siding instead of logs, but with the same large windows, and more space than she and Hannah had ever lived in.

“There’s the pool!” Hannah exclaimed, scrambling to unbuckle her seat belt and flinging the car door open. “And a hot tub. Mom, it’s got a hot tub. We get to use it, too, right?”

She was out of the car and running toward a free-form pool that seemed carved out of the landscape, with a small, rock waterfall at one end that spilled into both the pool and hot tub.

Gravel crunched under Valerie’s feet as she followed Hannah, reaching a flagstone path that branched into others heading toward the cottage, the main house, and through a wild, obviously untended garden to the pool. Lack of interest in gardening, she wondered, or his intent? He must be able to afford a gardener.

Valerie reached her daughter, who’d crouched beside the pool, dipped her hand into it then flicked a few refreshing drops at Valerie. “Can we go swimming, Mom? I’m sooo hot.”

They’d spent the afternoon packing their belongings and cleaning their apartment in the 101-degree Sacramento weather, squeezing everything into their small car. They both needed a cool swim before unpacking and settling in. And the man of the house didn’t appear to be home.

“Pleeease,” Hannah begged, tugging on Valerie’s hand.

“How fast can you find your bathing suit?”

“I put it in the last grocery bag we loaded.” She grinned, obviously pleased at her planning ahead. “Yours, too. I swiped it from your suitcase as soon as you said there was a pool.”

“Have I told you lately how smart you are?” Valerie hooked an arm around her daughter as they returned to the car.

“Just every day.”

They grabbed the bag from the car then headed to the cottage to change. A note was taped to the front door: “Welcome. I expect to be home by 7:30. I’ll bring dinner. We’ll meet later to discuss your specific duties. DF”

It was only six o’clock, so they had plenty of time, provided she could drag Hannah out of the pool at some point.

“Way cool!” Hannah declared as they stepped inside the cottage.

Valerie wondered why David called it a cottage when it was really more of a guesthouse. A large great room, dining area and kitchen comprised the visible living space, while in the back were two bedrooms with a shared bath between. The modern furnishings looked brand-new and perfectly suited to the structure, not exactly “cabin” decor but dark greens, reds and browns, with some wrought-iron pieces and trim, and a stone fireplace.

She’d never lived in anything like it.

“Which bedroom do you want?” she asked her daughter, her words trailing off as Hannah raced into one of the rooms and slammed the door shut.

“Hurry, Mom,” she shouted through the wood.

Valerie took a moment to enjoy the bedroom that would now be hers. The pine furnishings included a rustic four-poster, queen-size bed and an armoire that housed a television, drop-leaf desk and six-drawer dresser. The comforter was red-and-green striped. Overall, it was a streamlined, masculine look, but that didn’t really surprise her. David Falcon was all male.

“I’m ready!”

“Almost done,” Valerie called out as she peeled off her sweaty, sticky clothes and tugged on her bathing suit, a black one-piece as old as Hannah. Valerie found a linen closet inside the bathroom and grabbed two pool towels. On her way out she caught sight of herself in the mirror. Her suit sagged a little, as much from old elastic as the fact she’d lost weight in the past year, leaving her, according to her mother, skin and bones. She didn’t think she looked that bad, but maybe the new situation—especially the lack of worrying about life in general—would bring back her lost curves, or at least what there’d been of them to begin with.

She would be happy here. She could feel it. She and Hannah would have a place they could call home. They wouldn’t have to triple-lock their door. They could sleep with windows open.

“Mo-om!”

Valerie hurried out of the bathroom, grabbed Hannah’s hand and ran to the pool, jumping straight in. They touched bottom then shoved themselves up through the bubbles, still holding hands, laughing as they broke the surface.

This is what freedom feels like—cool and clean.…

She ignored the hot tears pressing at her eyes. She wouldn’t do anything to mess up this incredible situation, would make sure that Hannah understood what her boundaries were. Valerie would make herself completely indispensable to Mr. David Falcon. He would find no fault with her work or behavior. She would be a consummate professional, do nothing remotely improper.…

For the next half hour she and Hannah played and romped and floated. They turned on the jets in the hot tub and climbed in, just because they could, letting the heat seep into their bodies, then getting out and doing cannonballs into the cooler pool. Valerie planted her hands on the pool edge to push herself out as Hannah grabbed her ankles, trying to tug her back in. They were laughing and taunting each other.

The stretched-out straps of Valerie’s bathing suit slipped a little. She pulled free of her daughter’s grip. Breathless, she shoved herself up and almost out of the pool…and came face-to-face with a huge golden retriever—and her boss standing right behind.

* * *

So. The buttoned-up Valerie Sinclair did have a body—a very nice body—beneath all that fabric, David thought, studiously avoiding watching her directly as she jammed her straps back into place and hurried over to a chair to grab a towel, covering herself, apologizing the whole time.

“Hi, I’m David Falcon,” he said to the worried-looking little girl clinging to the side of the pool.

“I’m Hannah. What’s your dog’s name?”

“This is Belle.” Belle looked up at him at hearing her name, her tongue hanging out the side of her mouth in a goofy dog smile. She’d become like a puppy again since he’d loaded her in his car. “She’ll swim with you, if you want.”

“Really?”

“She won’t go in on her own, but if you slap the water and call her name, she’ll dive right in. Don’t call her near you, because she’s strong and her claws can hurt. Just let her swim around on her own. She’ll climb up the stairs when she’s done.”

“Cool!” Hannah patted the water. “C’mere, Belle. Come on, girl.”

With one last happy look at David she jumped in, thus apparently forgiving him for her years of exile at Noah’s. She was too old to be having to put up with all those children, even Noah’s sedate children. But having one child around, this eight-year-old Hannah, would be good for her, especially when David was out of town. Belle needed company, and someone to care about, follow around and curl up with.

“I’m sorry,” Valerie said again, coming up beside David, watching the dog and the girl swim in circles.

“For what?”

“Not being ready for work when you arrived. I thought we had more time.”

“I didn’t expect you to work tonight.” He finally eyed her directly, all wrapped up in a towel that matched her hazel eyes, her wet hair dripping down her back. He’d been right about her looking younger with her hair down. “Your daughter is a miniature of you.”

“I can’t tell you how excited she is to be here. The cottage is beautiful.”

Belle followed a giggling Hannah across the pool, then headed for the stairs. The dog didn’t climb out but stood, resting.

“Are you all settled in?”

“We haven’t even unloaded the car yet.”

He considered taking a swim himself, but decided to wait until later. He figured Valerie would keep a strict employer/employee relationship with him, which would include making sure her daughter didn’t get in his way.

Which was fine with him. David had nothing against kids, he just didn’t know how to relate to them, even his nieces and nephews. He particularly didn’t want to get attached to an employee’s child. She had to be separate from the working relationship as much as possible.

“I picked up a pizza,” he said to Valerie. “Come up to the house when you’re ready and we’ll reheat it. We’ll talk business afterward.”

“Both of us?”

“Your daughter needs to eat, too, right?”

“I can take her a plate.”

“We’ll make an exception for tonight.”

Valerie nodded. He walked away, sensing her relief. He knew, given her background of false accusations of sexual harassment, that she would be more wary than most, more aware of potential impropriety. He respected that. He wanted a long-term, employer/employee relationship with her. He would be just as careful as she.

He got partway down the path when he heard the thunder of Belle’s paws pounding the flagstone behind him, getting closer. He turned. She bounded to a halt and shook the pool water from her fur, head to tail, drenching him.

Hannah shrieked with laughter then clamped a hand over her mouth. Valerie stood frozen, awaiting his response. He hunkered down and wrapped his arms around his great old dog, getting himself wetter in the process, glad to have her home.

So much for impeccable behavior, Valerie thought with a sigh as she and Hannah walked to the cottage a few minutes later. He’d caught her in her bathing suit, totally goofing off, acting like a kid. How embarrassing. Not an auspicious start to their business relationship at all.

“Belle’s a neat dog,” Hannah said. “I never knew dogs liked to swim. I mean, I know they can, because there’s even a name for it, right? The dog paddle? But I didn’t know they would just jump in and swim around.”

“Just don’t get too attached. She’s his dog, not yours.”

“But he’s gone a lot. You said so. She’ll be staying with us, won’t she? She can’t stay in that big ol’ house by herself. She’d be sooo lonely.”

Hannah’s eyes pleaded with Valerie, who tried not to laugh. Right. Belle would be lonely.

Valerie and Hannah unloaded the car, then showered and dressed for their first dinner with the boss. The evening temperature was perfect as they took the path to the house and climbed the back stairs. Through a window Valerie saw a kitchen and was glad she would be working in a space with such a spectacular view, not only of the pool but the tree-studded hills.

She knocked on the kitchen door. After a minute she knocked again. Finally she turned the handle and leaned inside. “Hello?”

“Be right there. Make yourself at home,” David called, the words muffled by distance.

“Wow. Our old apartment would fit in here,” Hannah said, looking around at the kitchen and breakfast nook.

The stainless steel appliances made it contemporary, but there was a rustic feel, too, in the pine cabinets and autumn-toned granite countertops. Not a curtain in sight, either, nor any plants. Nothing to soften the streamlined feel of the place, the home of someone who didn’t really live there, but used it as a base camp.

David breezed into the room. He’d changed from slacks and a dress shirt to jeans and a T-shirt, and was barefoot. Belle trailed him. Valerie wondered how old David was. Thirty?

“Settled in?” he asked.

“Almost. We haven’t put everything away, but it’s all in the house,” Valerie answered, keeping a hand on Hannah’s shoulder so that she wouldn’t run to Belle, who wagged her tail in greeting.

“The stove’s preheated,” David said. “Shouldn’t take too long. I hope you like pepperoni.” He slid a large pizza into the oven. “How about a tour while it heats.”

“That would be great.”

The inside of the house was as stunning as the outside. It was a man’s home, but a classy one, the environment clearly of someone who liked art and color, who had style. Maybe a decorator should get credit, but David would have had to approve everything purchased, so he must’ve had a hand in the final result in some way.

On the first floor was a living room with a stone fireplace, a family room holding a woodstove that piped heat into the rest of the house, a large dining room with a table and chairs for twelve, an office and a powder room. Upstairs were four bedrooms, two baths and the master suite, with its enormous bed and spectacular view, the same as in the kitchen, of the pool and mountains, even the cottage. Heavy green drapes framed the windows. She wondered how often he shut them.

She wondered, too, how often he had company. Female company. He was an attractive and successful man. Did he have a regular girlfriend?

“It’s an incredible home,” she said to him, having given up on keeping Hannah by her side. She and Belle had teamed up, following at their own pace. “Although a lot of house for one person.”

“I spend much of my life in airplanes and hotel rooms. I need a place to spread out.”

“How long have you lived here?”

“Had it built five years ago.”

They headed out the bedroom door and downstairs. Valerie motioned to Hannah, who played on the landing with Belle, tossing the dog’s rag doll, then throwing it again after Belle brought it back.

“How much are you gone?” she asked.

“At least half the month. My oldest brother, Noah, and I have owned the business for eleven years. We used to share the overseas work, but Noah’s wife died three years ago, and now he has their four children to take care of.” They reached the bottom of the staircase, which faced a wall of family photos. He pointed to a photo of a man and woman with four children. “He’s needed to be with them, I understand that, so I’ve been doing all the traveling. But someday I hope we can split the work again. I’m also trying to figure out ways to do less overseas and more here in the States.”